I pray that God will grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of the people I killed because they were annoying.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Every time it happened, she’ll need more than half hour to really be done with it. Tonight, instead of facing the mess and entertaining the unnecessary, she decided it was time. She had to do something about it. There was no other choice but to get it done herself.

She used to fix it on her own when she was younger. When things were much easier. That was a very long time ago. Very, very long time ago.

She was a bit doubtful on how it would be. Would it be bad? Horrible? She won’t know until she try.

So she bunched it all together, stared at her reflection in the mirror, savoring what might not be there anymore in the next hour.

The metal was cold against her skin. She closed her eyes for a silent prayer.

The time has come. The moment of truth.

She opened her eyes and started to work. Bit by bit. It started slow but as soon as she felt the familiar rhythm, it was not that difficult.

It was done. It was unbelievable. She couldn’t believe it was over. She had done it yet again.

She smiled. It was not bad at all. It didn’t hurt. She was still smiling as she got dressed. She hoped he'll be pleased.

There he was. Gazing serenely at the inventions as if it was his first time looking at them.

He saw her. She smiled at him. He did too before returning to the inventions.

She was a bit disappointed that he didn’t look at her long enough and that he did not utter a word.

She touched his arm and gave a hopeful smile. He turned and looked at her. His eyes travelled through her face and asked.

‘Did you cut your hair?’

‘Lamanya nak perasan. Chis. Penat orang senyum-senyum’.

So that was it. I cut my hair last night while Deli was watching something on Discovery channel.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

I was so busy weekend – with spring cleaning, attending parties and shopping!

Went to Time Square on Friday with Elizabeth and managed to shop for a little bit in Metrojaya. Some of the stuff are ridiculously cheap that I decided I should come again and comb the whole department store!

Deli had to work on Saturday while kakak had a replacement class. I was awake since kakak left for school – which is a rare occasion for me. Started spring cleaning while adik entertained himself with his PSII. Managed to tidy up the kids’ reading place and their den. Did 2 loads of laundry in between. Rearranged quarter of the kitchen before fetching kakak from school.

Bought lunch at Setiawangsa and continued to clean the kitchen.

Deli got home at 6.30pm and we were off to Times Square an hour after that.

I thought of getting some clothes for the kids in preparation of Raya. I know it’s awfully early but trust me, it saves a lot. Especially when the department stores are having sales. This way, I can pretty much concentrate on getting raya cookies and sparklers during Ramadhan. The thought of squeezing through a sea of people in shopping malls and queuing for the cash registers really turn me off.

Shopping should be a breeze. Ample time to compare prices, colors, needs, etc. before actually buying something. Pure bliss.

Anyways, turned out Deli had more on his mind that we ended up shopping for him instead. With a couple of minutes to spare, we managed to get adik 2 Renoma shirts and 2 dresses for kakak. Now I have to find some pants for adik. I don’t really fancy buying him long pants because he outgrow them like nobody’s business! I normally buy him knee-length or 3 quarter pants. That way, he’ll be able to wear them longer.

Sunday came and Deli was whining to go to Low Yatt for his pc gadgets. Left the house at 11am for Low Yatt. Did I mention that I hate this place? It’s always crowded and finding a parking spot is close to impossible.

While Deli had fun getting his gadgets, kakak and I had hotdogs at 1901. Deli and adik joined us a little bit later.

We crossed the road because I saw a Metrojaya there and thought that I should get a spare mattress protector for the kids because one of them keep wetting the bed. I’m not gonna point fingers but we always find her sleeping in the guest room when she did it.

So off we went to BB Plaza and did a quick stop at Parkson. Giggsy called this morning and invited us to her house warming party in the afternoon. Bought her a gift and accidentally bought myself a pitcher for $12. Darn cheap, I tell ya.

Went to Metrojaya after that and managed to get kakak 3 pairs of baju kurung worth $44 each! That’s cheap considering the material and cut. Two nyonya kebaya and 1 modern cut. Bought a dress for Hani Sofea as well. Tried to find something for Natasya but I can’t recall how tall she was. Maybe I’ll get her a handbag or something an 11 years old would need. Any ideas?

It was almost 3.30pm when we were done. Hurried to GE Mall for the monthly supply of cat food and litter sand. By the by, those two are infested with fleas and unidentified kutus. I complained to Deli about rashes and unimaginable itchiness on my legs since the week before but did not actually check the cats for kutus. I noticed however that the cats stopped sleeping on our beds and that Baby Cat kept scratching his face and tummy lately.

By the way, Kechik is now known as Ciku Biku and Baby Cat’s new name is Kabu Babu.

It was a spur of the moment kinda thing. Kakak and I came up with the names while adik struggled hard to remember who is who. Heheh.

So we bought a yummy smelling medicated shampoo to get rid of the kutus, ear drops to clean their ears and hopefully keep the kutus away and a comb especially to comb the kutu out. I know Tok Mak will be laughing like mad when she hears about this. If she does that, I have no choice but to bring up the incident where she had a cat kutu near her ears. Don’t make me, mum!!

Anyways, we were off to Bandar Baru Ampang for GIggys’s party. The kids ate a lot – poor babies. They must have been really hungry. VF was there as well so we managed to catch up on things for a bit. It was a fun event and I finally met the famous Gegirl. Such a sweet gal though adik claimed Gegirl tried to eat him. Yeah, right.

Weekend was great despite being packed with things to do and places to go to. I wish we have longer weekends. Sigh.

I came in the office (yes, on the hateful Monday) feeling enthusiast and energized to start the Technical Test with 10 selected Public Bank branches all over the country. I checked (and rechecked) my schedule and tons of test documents to make sure everything’s in order.

9am Business PM called to say that one of the team member was on leave. I was shocked because I didn’t know about it. The team knows very well that they need to update me on their leave days to avoid things like this from happening! Darn.

So that person was on leave and there’s nothing much that we can do about it. Told the BPM to take over the missing member’s role and I’ll back her up. Probelm solved. Hopefully.

3pm The exercise commenced and we started getting calls 10 minutes after that.

Major problem – nothing worked!

BPM called to update me on the status. The escalation procedure require me to contact the IT PM and I did. I told him the problem and asked if the Solution Leader was able to advise on the root cause. To my surprise, he was also not in the office!! Great. Just what I need.

BPM and I tried to handle the calls and complaints. Our phones rang non-stop and we were like 2 headless chicken, trying to do what we can to manage the situation.

Disaster!

4.30pm We stopped the exercise. Nothing was working as they were supposed to. Nobody was there to check on the issues as well so why bother.

The Queen Bee (who happens to be a bitch – excuse my French!) sent out an email on her frustration and disappointment. For the first time, I couldn’t find suitable words (read: non swearing words) to reply her mail.

I feel sick. No medicine would be able to cure it. I just feel sick to the bone.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

It was a fun event and we enjoyed ourselves despite it being a short vacation with lots and lots of rain.

Bought Aeroline tickets for Friday at 6.45pm but we were still at home by 5.45pm. Deli called numerous times for a cab to take us to Corus Hotel but couldn’t get any. As the last resort, we walked to the main road with luggage and the Dutchman’s 3 pillows (he bought it for our visit) in tow. Lucky us, we managed to get a cab after mere 5 minutes wait. The journey to Jalan Ampang took forever! The road was badly congested. We reached our destination with a good 10 minutes to spare. Phew!

Ah, but the thrill has yet to end. The Dutchman and Elizabeth were nowhere to be seen. I called Elizabeth to learn that they were stuck in traffic opposite of Ampang Park but they’re getting off the car and walk to Corus hotel. The cabin crew was kind enough to spare those two a couple of minutes before they close the door and leave for Singapore.

The whole journey was interesting to the kids because they have never traveled by bus before. We were served spaghetti for dinner and watched Click before stopping at Pagoh rest area. The Dutchman lend the kids his laptop and they watched Home Alone 3, trying not to laugh so hard and disturb other passengers.

Elizabeth & adik at Pagoh rest area

We reached Singapore at midnight and boarded 2 cabs to the Dutchman’s place. Everyone slept a little past 2am that night.

It rained heavily on Saturday so we stayed in and prayed that it’ll stop raining soon. Well, it didn’t so we decided to go out anyway. Left the house around 12 noon to Faber Hill.

Bought tickets for cable cars and places in Sentosa. Adik was quiet the whole journey and held tight to Deli and the window. No prize in guessing how scared he was. Hahah.

Deli and adik in the cable car to Sentosa

Apparently we bought tickets for tour groups. I always thought tour groups are for old people who’s lost some of their sense of direction. Now I’m one of them!! Wahahah.

The tour guide was a Malay lad and our first stop was the Underwater World. The kids went crazy at the sight of colorful fishes and beautiful corals. They had a tank of sting rays where you could buy a pack of food (no idea what it was) and feed them. I’ve never seen how a sting ray uses its mouth. It’s simply amazing.

There were a lot of interesting creatures in there including white tip sharks and a dugong. Not to mention various kinds of crabs from the smallest of them to gigantic ones that stand as tall as kakak. There was one creature called sea angels and as the name suggests, they are marvelous creatures. You’d be mesmerized just by looking at them.

Posing with the gigantic crab

On the way out of the Underwater World, there were pythons that you could put on your shoulder and take pictures with. Kakak was brave enough to pet the baby python while the rest of us shuddered and stayed as far as we could from the snake booth. Eww.

Kakak petting the baby python

While waiting for the bus, I saw this.

Yup. It’s Ben & Jerry’s. Goodness gracious. It’s been so long since I last had their ice cream. They have it in Cold Storage but it’s damn expensive and the flavors are far from what I fancy.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to buy any because we were rushing to catch the bus. I waved goodbye to Ben & J’s and left with a heavy heart. I made sure that the rest know how disappointed I was to have missed the opportunity to satisfy my cravings for Ben & J’s. Sobs.

The Dutchman and his wife left for the mainland coz the Mrs had a vocal class to attend. The brood, Elizabeth and I stayed on and looked for a place to have lunch. We settled for pizza and to our delight, adik really feasted on the food. He finished his and a piece (or two?) from Elizabeth’s. Way to go adik!! It’s really hard to see him eat that much and in occasion like this, we’re more than happy to accommodate his appetite.

Adik feasting on pizza

We queued for a 3D show but due to some technical glitches, we had to endure 3 opening speeches. Darn. Finally, we get o sit on the simulation units and the show was a total fun! The kids sat with Elizabeth while Deli and I sat in front of them and I could hear them screaming and laughing their hearts out. No amount of money could ever compensate those screams and laughs. I’m just blessed that I’m able to provide them the experience.

They couldn’t stop talking about the show and nobody admitted that they screamed but I know their voices too well. Heheh.

Next stop was the Dolphin Marine but unfortunately the next show was 1.5 hours away. So we boarded the bus (again) and this time we managed to get on a double deck bus and secured seats at the very end of the open top deck.

Elizabeth, adik & kakak on double deck bus

We stopped by Singapore’s famous landmark – the Merlion. Half mermaid and half lion statue stood proud on the island.

We took our time and walked all the way to the Dolphin Marine and still had half an hour to kill. There was an animal show in the amphitheatre so we decided to join the fun while waiting for the dolphin show to start. It turned out ot be one smart decision. We enjoyed the show and brave Deli get to handle a wild eagle with the assistance of the bird keeper. Amazing!

We left half way through the show to catch the dolphin show. It was fun but the place was a bit too crowded with rude people. I managed to catch some pictures and they turned out great. How often do you get to see pink dolphins, right?

So off we went to the cable car station to end one memorable and fun day in Sentosa Island.

Got off at Viva City mall to be greeted by the Dutchman and his wife. We thought we were about to head home but they took us to the Night Safari instead. The kids could not contain their excitement even though they had no idea what was waiting for them in the Night Safari. The cab driver was a bit of a maniac and was definitely at par with KL cab drivers’ F1 performance. Scary!

Bought the tickets and was about to find a place for dinner when I saw the one place that I really, really want to be.

There it was. A Ben & J’s stood in front of me while I stared ‘jakun’ly with saliva dripping out at the corner of my mouth. I think the group had fun toying with me by dragging me away from Ben & J’s to had dinner. A group of man wearing nothing but loin cloth who passed by didn’t ever deter my longing for a cup of Ben & J’s. Saliva still dripping though – both for ice cream and the group of half naked man. Elizabeth was fumbling for her glasses. She didn’t wanna miss the ‘show’ either. Hahahaha.

We queued for the tram (still no ice-cream – sobs) and waited for 15 minutes before boarding on one. We traveled in the dark with nothing more than the guide’s voice accompanied by sounds of the jungle. Most of the animals were let loose and you could touch them if you stick your hands out. We get to hear a real life roaring from 2 mighty lions. Amazing!

The whole ride took 40 minutes and we enjoyed every sound, sight and stench. Didn’t get to watch the animal show because it was another long queue and everyone was pretty tired by then. We walked around and took more pictures before they finally led me to the longed for Ben & J’s ice cream parlor.

I was in HEAVEN when I saw strawberry & kiwi ice cream!! Nobody else cared for ice cream so I took my time savoring the flavors before ordering a cup of strawberry & kiwi ice cream and a berry smoothie. Kakak feasted on the smoothie while I had the ice cream. I would have bought a bigger cup or more than a flavor if I wasn’t coughing my lungs out every other minute.

Kakak slurping on berry smoothie

Reached home a little after 11pm feeling all worn out – except for the kids. They still had the energy for a Harry Potter movie before calling it a night. By the way, the Dutchman and Elizabeth were not into Harry Potter and threatened to burn my book when they saw it on my table a couple of days back. I purposely asked the kids to bring Harry Potter movie to annoy those two. If the Dutchman decided to burn his laptop because it was stained by a Harry Potter movie, I want to be there to witness the burning. Hahah.

We left for Vivo City mall the next morning. The Aeroline counter was in the mall as well so we stashed our bags there and scoured the rest of the mall.

We bid goodbye to the rest and left Singapore at 1.30pm. Adik slept right after lunch, all the way to KL. They showed The Devil Wears Prada but none of us really cared. We slept most of the time.

Reached KL at 6.30pm and took a cab home. Everybody was tired but all of us agreed that we had a great time in Singapore.

Many thanks to the host. We will definitely come back for a longer visit.